Calvin Synod Herald, 1977 (77. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-09-01 / 9-10. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 5 The Johnstown Flood SPECIAL NEIGHBORS IN NEED OFFERING is recommended by the Conference Council in support of our churches in the Johnstown area. The NIN offering is suggested by United Church of Christ for October 2 (World Wide Communion Sunday) for various purposes. The Calvin Synod’s Conterence Council feels that at the present time, these our sisters and brothers are the closest “Neighbors in Need.” Therefore, the constituent churches are asked to use the NIN envelopes (already mailed to our churches) on Oct. 2 or other convenient Sundays for the “Johnstown Area Relief.” Prompt forwarding of the contributions to the Synod’s Treasurer are requested and appreciated. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE JOHNSTOWN, PA. AREA? On July 19, 1977 at night a 10 inch outburst of rain broke the Laurel Run Dam and hooded the area creating a disaster far more deadly than was the 1936 flood. The Rev. Zoltán Kovács of Homestead, Pa. visited the area the next day and after 15 miles walk, he and his wife could reach only Vintondale. “The little Hungarian church still stands in its place, although the stone entrance is pushed away a few inches. The basement is full of mud, the furnace fallen apart. The parsonage chimney is hanging in the air as its base was washed away by the flood. The garage is nowhere, an uprooted tree stands in its place..— this is how he recollects his first impression. (The Kovács’ made two other trips on July 28 and Aug. 1, taking food, clothing, medical supplies, and $2,500.00 which was voted by the Homestead consistory for the restoration of the church edifices...) On Aug. 15, The Rev. Arthur E. Antal, pastor of our Johnstown-Vintondale charge wrote: “I am ever grateful to Rev. Zoli Kovács for in those early days he did come down and he brought some canned food and other items which we did distribute. Later he gave our churches a gift of $2,581.00 towards rebuilding and refurnishing the churches; $1,200 of that will be used in Vintondale for a new furnace and oil tank. I think they found the oil tank about a mile away. The churches and parsonages at Johnstown and Vintondale are severely damaged. The water reached the sanctuary floor in Johnstown, but not in Vintondale. The rug in the sanctuary had to be thrown out, and everything in basement was lost, including a freezer, tables, chairs, refrigerator, stove, furnace, hot water heater, etc., etc. We cleaned the sanctuary in Johnstown at least nine times but still needs cleaning. The basement mud and water took three days to shovel out and carry out in buckets. This was done by some of our members, plus a great number of volunteer workers. The basement of the church was cleaned out at least another seven times as well as steamcleaned. The ceiling plaster came down. Yesterday some of our members tore out the plaster in the furnace room and the plaster board walls around the restrooms as well as in the furnace room, t he eiectrical wiring in all buildings is in an unsafe situation, but we do have electricity... The parsonage in Johnstown where we were living had 3 feet or water on the first floor. That alone took 6 of us four days to clean. We lost, I guess, about $15,000 of personal belongings... After the first 4 days I spent 3 days just looking up my members and bringing them various types of supplies and making contact..., since as a clergyman I could get around without being stopped. Many of these places even in Johnstown, I was the only clergyman that was around taking these supplies to places that are 14, 17 miles out of town... You might be interested to know that we lost one member from cur Johnstown Church in the flood waters. They found her body 10 days after the flood 12 miles down stream. Graveside services had to be held immediate.y. . . We have now been having services in Johnstown. In Vintondale we had our first service yesterday...” This is what happened. IN THIS EMERGENCY the Church World Service of our denomination allocated $2,000 on July 27 for immediate assistance to our 3 churches, and the Pension Board is sending salary subsidy to Rev. Antal. In addition to the Homestead Church ($2,500), our McKeesport church also sent $100 as emergency relief. We hope that these examples will inspire all of us to do our best for the support of our churches. “Let us love not in word or speech, but in deed and in truth” (I. John 3:18). Dr. John Butosi 11th GENERAL SYNOD OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST REFLECTIONS Although the Eleventh General Synod was well planned and organized I was most disappointed in several areas of Synod. Especially hurtful was the Worship Service in the Washington Cathedral. A well-meaning but misguided effort to create a festive liturgy back-fired into a Class B Hollywood type film spectacle a la Cecil B. DeMille. Although the music, choir and the ballet performed well nevertheless the production was more suitable to the theatre than to a worshipping Christian Congregation. The sermon and its accompaning “Calisthenics” is best forgotten. What could have been an inspiring witness in the nation’s capital mirrored instead our utter confusion as to the purpose and work of our United Church of Christ. Indeed, the Eleventh General Synod did little to assuage our fears of impending crisis and chaos. The memory of a grand introit now twenty years in the past fades as only the remnant of hope remains for our new president, Avery Post, to lift up and reclaim for all to see and follow. Between memory and hope I pray for a future. Arpad L. Beret:
